Eldritch
by jennaravenrose
Summary: Sherlock finds a new mystery in the form of his new neighbor. She just wants to hide from her past but there is no hiding anything from the Holmes brothers
1. Chapter 1

Title: Eldritch

Author: jennaravenrose

Fandom: Sherlock, BBC

Rating : M

It was pouring. The rain was coming down in sheets. She closed her eyes and tilted her face to the deluge. People scampered indoors running for cover from the downpour. She smiled, it felt wonderful. So cold so wet, like thousands of icy tongues running down her skin. Some of the people turned briefly to stare at the young woman standing there in the rain. She was wearing only a thin cotton shirt and a rather short skirt that skimmed her mid thigh. A pair of sandals on her otherwise bare feet. She looked for all the world like an out of place tourist that hadn't prepared for London's rather fickle weather.

A now throughly soggy newspaper was clutched in one hand. The ink from the print and the circles she had made around certain ads dripped from her fingertips to the sidewalk. Her platinum hair was plastered to her back by the moisture. This was the last one on the list and she still had a block to go. She lowered her head when someone shouted at her.

Turning ever so slightly she spotted who had interrupted her thoughts. A man with a black car that said cab was waiting by the curb, clearly hoping she would get in.

"I said, Lady do you want a ride?" said the man

She inclined her head ever so slightly

"No thank you , I would rather walk" she said politely then resumed her trek.

The dumbfounded man stared after her scratching his head in confusion. Finally he reasoned she was either a tourist or crazy, perhaps even both. The man folded his umbrella and got back in his car. With a sigh he surveyed the mostly empty street and the strange woman walking away from him like she was taking a Sunday stroll.

She hummed an old song as she walked and playfully splashed in some of the puddles just like a child. The sun was down and the street was almost deserted, so she felt just a bit relaxed. She twirled briefly caught up in the moment, she felt alive and oh so refreshed. She caught sight of the canopy she was looking for and glanced at the numbers beside the doors.

She had spoken to the old woman just the other day. She sounded sweet and very old. Thankfully not like the lecherous old man at the last one she looked at. The apartment had been nice but his thoughts had betrayed him and there was no way she would rent that place now. It wasn't as if she couldn't have handled him but a killing would have drawn unwanted attention. She wanted to stay for awhile.

She liked the rain and London was almost perfect in that regard. She opened her mind ever so slightly. The voices were subdued, people mostly trying to warm up or dry off. An annoyed cabby a few feet from her watching what he referred to as the crazy lady. She frowned when she saw her own image in his mind. She quelled the rising anger and turned her attention to the abode in front of her.

Three mind voices greeted her probe. One worried and giving up about renting a place no one seemed to want, one was seriously annoyed with the other one, who seemed completely bored and smug. Yes that was it smug, he did not want a new neighbor and fully intended to frighten off any who were interested.

She withdrew her probe and snorted, she would like to see him try. She stepped forward and rang the bell. The voices halted inside. She listened with both her ears and her other sense to what was going on inside.

"Oh dear, who could that be in this weather?" said the old woman

Mrs Hudson she mentally corrected. She heard someone move towards the door.

"Oh my what is she doing out in this weather, the poor dear" said the woman

just before she opened the door.

She tilted her head and regarded the shorter old woman in the doorway.

"Mrs Hudson?" she said

"Yes and you are?" said Hudson

Recalling the moniker she gave the woman, she smiled at her and extended her hand

"Eldritch Rayne, I believe we spoke on the ..phone about a flat" said El

The old woman looked shocked then dismayed.

"Oh dear yes, now I remember but I did not think you would come out in this weather" said the woman El cast a momentary glance at the street, just what was wrong with this weather?

"Oh please do come in, where are my manners making you stand out there in the rain like that" said Hudson

The old woman stepped back and El walked into the abode. She inhaled deeply taking in the musty smell, the faint hint of lemon cleaner and was that? Oh yes, leather bound books. The clatter on the stairs alerted her that one of the men had come down from upstairs. El took a moment to look him over, he was handsome, blond and slightly older.

"Oh goodness! John can you fetch a towel, she's dripping every where" said Hudson

John had been staring at the newcomer until Mrs Hudson shook him free of his distraction.

"Yes of course" said John.

He moved slowly upstairs to fetch a towel. She noticed he moved with a limp same as the old woman. "You must be freezing how about some nice hot tea to warm you up a bit" said Hudson

El smiled, not that she needed warming up but there was genuine concern beneath the womans words. Which was unusual but nice.

"Yes that would be lovely" said El

The man came back downstairs holding a fluffy blue towel in his hands.

"Here you go miss" said John

Mrs Hudson took it from his hands and with a clucking noise wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Thank you John" said Hudson

The man blinked owlishly and looked away suddenly a slight blush rising to his cheeks. El calmly wiped the water from her face and followed the older woman into her abode.

"Now to be fair, I must tell you its in the basement" said Mrs Hudson

She walked towards her kitchen and El listened to the odd noises coming from inside. She wasn't sure if she should sit on the cream colored sofa or the equally fluffy pink chair. Mrs Hudson came out of the kitchen.

"There now I've put the kettle on, here you can sit here" said Hudson

She pulled one of her kitchen chairs out for El to sit on. El nodded and walked towards it, she calmly sat down.

"Now why don't you tell me a bit about yourself, you didn't say much over the phone, just that you wanted to look at the place" said Hudson

El nodded and took a moment to compose herself or rather the carefully crafted facade she had created. Something that would blend with whatever accent she decided would go best with this persona. At the same time she took stock of the old woman's mental state.

"What is it you wish to know?" said El

She had the money the woman was asking for and more than enough to rent furniture while she was here.

"You know the usual what do you do for a living, where you are from?" said Hudson

"Oh computers mostly, my company transferred me" said El

She firmly resisted the urge to smirk because it would look out of place.

"Oh, really I am sorry to hear that. I am absolutely rubbish with electronics" said Hudson

El smiled at the old woman. So was she but she could always make it work another way.

"Transferred from where? If you don't mind me asking, you do not sound like your from England dear" said Hudson

El resisted the urge to grin like an idiot.

"No I'm not, I'm from the states, is that a problem?" said El

She let her voice take on that musical quality that was so effective at convincing people to let her have her way.

"No of course not, its just that we don't get many people from across the pond as it were" said Hudson

El backed down calming the rather irrational side of her personality that wanted to lash out. The teapot whistled and El barely covered the wince as it drove a spike of pain straight through her skull. Mrs Hudson thankfully stopped the noise before she gave in to the urge to flee the sound.

"Would you like cream and sugar? I am not sure how they take tea over in the states" said Hudson

El was slowly regaining her senses and only half heard the question.

"Miss Rayne are you all right dear?" said Mrs Hudson

"Yes just a bit of jet lag, so sorry you were saying" said El

"Cream or sugar?" said Hudson

"Both please, lots of it" said El

Hudson chuckled and poured some milk and sugar into both cups. She hobbled back to El and set the cup before her. El gratefully picked it up and took a tentative sip. It was too hot for most people but El liked it that way though. At Mrs Hudson perplexed look, she stopped herself from downing the whole cup while it was scalding hot . She set the cup down and gazed at Mrs Hudson.

"So when can I see it?" said El

"Well truthfully I wasn't expecting anyone today but since you did come all this way in the rain" said Mrs Hudson.

Raised voices from upstairs caught her attention and she glanced at the ceiling.

"Oh don't mind them, they very rarely get loud" said the old woman

El could hear the desperation in her voice and the unspoken mantra in her mind of, _please don't walk_ _away, oh please. _El shrugged off the argument even though she could clearly hear just what they both were saying about her. A phone rang and she listened to one of the men talk to someone named Lestrade and then hang up.

"We have a case, come along John" said the other man.

El took another sip of her tea and smiled at Mrs Hudson. She heard them both descend the stairs and the outer door opened and then closed. The two other minds were now walking away from the building and right for the annoying cabby from earlier. El resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"The place?" said El

"Oh yes, they'll be back later. I suppose I can always introduce you to them later, if you like the place that is" said Hudson

The woman stood and hobbled towards the door grabbing a keyring from beside the door. El gulped down the last of her tea and followed her. Hudson walked to the staircase that was going down and hobbled down the stairs. El calmly followed and watched Mrs Hudson work at unlocking the door. It took the old woman a few minutes

"Door sticks a bit when it rains, the moisture you know" said Hudson

Finally the door opened and the old woman proceeded her into the room. El calmly looked around. There was one big room with a fireplace on one end. To the right of the door was a small kitchen and beyond the fireplace was a small hallway.

"It's in a basement, no windows I'm afraid but.." said Hudson

El made a scoffing noise and she stopped talking abruptly.

El moved slowly through the room. It had a warm cozy feel. Yes there was that musty smell but to her it smelt like home, yes this is what she had been looking for. She wandered down the small hall and found a small bathing room and a bedroom. Mrs Hudson was nervously biting her bottom lip and El just couldn't help but listen in to what she was thinking. _Oh thank the lord sherlock got a case, this will_ _go so much smoother if he isn't here to scare her away, such a nice girl but oh so strange._ El smiled to herself, yes that just about summed her up. El exited the room

"I will take it, where do I sign?" said El

Mrs Hudson looked completely shocked for a few minutes and then recovered quickly

"Oh this way, really?" said Mrs Hudson

"Yes ,do you have objections?" said El

"No, no of course not" said Hudson

The old woman quickly led her back to her place and rifled through a stack of papers on her desk. She set a sheet in from of El and handed her a pen

"Is it okay if I bring you the money tomorrow?" said El

"Yes of course" said El

"I'll leave you a deposit if you like" said El

She had enough real currency on her to cover the deposit. The rest she would have to gleen tonight. El filled out the form leaving the next of kin blank and giving an address of a vacant lot in the states as her former address. After she filled out the paperwork, she handed Mrs Hudson the money and took her leave of the old woman.

Mrs Hudson hesitated about letting the girl leave in this storm but El said she would hail a cab. Not that she had any intention of doing so but if it appeased the woman then so be it. El stepped back out into the rain and gave a short wave to the old woman waiting in the door. There were no cabs on the street so El walked a bit aways from the house. She could hear the old woman grumbling about having to call a cab. El waved her arms like she was hailing a cab.

In fact there was nothing there but a quick whisper under her breath and the old woman saw a cab pick the girl up. Mrs Hudson closed the door and El straightened from her position of talking to the cab driver. Dismissed the cab with a wave. It pulled away and vanished into the night. El kept walking down the street until she reached the hotel she was staying at. She entered the lobby without so much as a glance at the man behind the desk. He didn't even look up from his paper.

In fact if he had he wouldn't have noticed her anyways, unless she wanted him to. Which she didn't because she had never really paid for the room she was currently in. She pushed the button and the weary metal box made its way to the lobby. She could have stayed at a nicer hotel but she really didn't want to draw attention to herself. She was supposed to be laying low because she didn't want him to find her.

Just once, she wanted a few years in a place where she wouldn't have to run for the hills whenever he appeared. The elevator door slid open with a grinding noise. She climbed on-board and hit the button for her floor. The doors closed with the same nerve wracking noise and the box jerked into motion.

It stopped on her floor and she exited the lift and walked down the hall carefully avoiding the threadbare pieces in the carpet that could catch your heel if you were unwary. She reached her door. With a quick glance in either direction to make sure she was alone, El passed her hand over the lock and the door clicked open.

She pushed her way inside the door and quickly closed it. She walked towards her bags and opened the one she knew contained the currency. She moved the clothes and lifted out the false bottom. She grabbed the small bag out from underneath the weapons and unzipped it. After separating the currency types into piles she counted the British pounds and frowned. She was short quite a bit and she would still need to get furniture.

Even if she cashed in all of her other foreign currency, she was still three hundred pounds short. She flopped down on the bed. She needed money and she didn't dare gleen it for the landlady. It could cost her the place if the woman figured out the bills were false. She sighed and looked at her bag. She didn't like doing this but she would have no choice. Groaning she slid open the zipper on her other bag and pulled a case from inside.

She opened it and regarded the musical instrument inside. The weather was horrendous right now, which would mean no customers. She groaned and closed the case. What was she going to do now, she had promised the old woman the rest of her money but short of stealing it she was stuck. The words stealing it stuck in her head. True she could influence people but could she influence them enough to give her three hundred pounds?

Probably if it was the right person . She would also have to ,gulp, actually get a job or at least do a performance once a month to cover her expenses. No a job would be best. She told the old woman computers and truthfully she was good with any machine really. She uncrumbled the paper in her hand and frowned.

The majority of the ink was unreadable. She placed her fingers at the crinkled edges and whispered several words in an ancient language. The paper shimmered and then the ink started running back where it belonged. Some of the words were still a bit pale but at least now it was readable. She quickly found an ad for an IT person at a hospital. She would check it out tomorrow. St Bart's didn't know it yet but they could send the other candidates home.

It gave an web address so she wrote it down., changed into something dry and warmer. She really didn't need anymore curious questions right now. She shoved her feet into a pair of slip ons and headed down to the Internet cafe on the corner. She signed in and sat down at one of the empty spots. Choosing one way in the back so if she had to do anything she wouldn't be seen doing it.

She opened the browser and typed in the address for the site. Most of the information was easy to provide and she put down the apartment as her new address and lied about a few things in her job history. When it came time to upload her resume she glanced around. There was a bored clerk behind the counter with his nose buried in a comic book. She smiled and whispered again. Willing the screen to form words that would get her hired no matter what.

She read over the credentials and committed them to memory. So she could change their information to reflect her resume. She clicked send and did a quick search for currency exchanges in the area. She noted he hours of the lone one she found within a block of the hotel and smirked because a plan had just occurred to her. Why exchange the ones as ones when they could be hundreds to anyone else she wants to see them that way.

Doing a quick mental calculation of the amount of ones she had and the fives. She figured that if they all were hundreds and fifties except for a few, she would have more than enough for the place and furniture. Her stomach grumbled and she added food to the list. She pulled up the companies on her resume. She set about hacking them to change her information or in some cases adding it in the first place.

The reason for leaving or termination left her stymied in a few cases. Until she thought up the sick relative angle. If she claimed a sick relative in some of the cities she moved to, all of her moving around made sense. She doubted they would look too deeply anyways especially if she had the skills to back up her boasts.

She finished up quickly when the clerk said they were about to close. She grabbed her stuff and headed for the door. There was a fast food place just down the street. She could grab something and head back to the hotel. She would need some time to change those bills anyway.

After a brisk walk to the restaurant, she was walking back to the hotel when she spotted the cars. Several police cars were situated at the end of an alley. She stopped to look along with the small crowd. There were several officers standing around. One woman officer was complaining about a freak to another officer.

She turned slightly and spotted the man who had brought her a towel earlier. He was holding an umbrella over what looked like a dead body. Kneeling next to said body was a man with dark hair. Curious she thought about extending a mental feeler to see what it was he was doing with a dead body.

Was the man a cop? If so how did he know John? Her stomach did a nervous little flip, suddenly unsure if she wanted a cop living upstairs. She vowed to ask Mrs Hudson tomorrow when she came by with the money. Having a cop upstairs might complicate things. She had seen enough, so she continued in the direction she had previously been going. Entered her hotel and headed for her room once more. Four hours later the bills were done and she was sleeping.

A ringing noise woke her up. With a groan she rolled over to smash it and stopped herself just in time before she crushed her phone. She flipped it open and held it to her head.

"Yes?" said El

"Eldritch Rayne?" said the voice on the other end.

"Yes" said El

"Hi ,I'm Lisa Holden with St Bart's human resources, you put in an application for one of our open positions" said the woman

El started to nod then remembered the woman couldn't see it.

"Yes" said El

"I was wondering if you could come in for a job interview sometime today?" said Ms Holden

"Sure" said El

"How does 3 o'clock sound?" said Lisa

El smiled, "That would be perfect" said El

"All right I'll see you then" said Lisa and hung up.

El closed the phone and chuckled. Her geas had worked better than she thought it would, she had just put in that application last night. El rolled out of bed, she needed to get her other errands done before the interview and buy a suit for the interview.

El dressed quickly and scooped the money into her bag, slid her shoes on and headed for the exchange. After an hour and half in line she no longer felt bad about cheating them. When she reached the window she set her money in front of the man behind the counter.

"I need this in pounds please" said El

The man dully counted the money and gave El a stack of pound notes for her piles of foreign currency and a receipt that he had her sign a copy of. El shoved everything into her bag then headed for the tube. She had a suit to buy and a deposit to make on an apartment.

She stopped by the apartment first and gave Mrs Hudson the money. She asked to old woman about the men upstairs, remembering the crime scene last night. The old woman hesitated until El dug out the cash.

"No of course not, John's a doctor and Sherlock just consults for Scotland yard, he isn't a cop, fancies himself a consulting detective though" said Mrs Hudson

El waved off her offer of tea pleading work and the need to shop for furnishings. It was at least partially true. El hailed a cab for real this time and gave the man a name of a store she saw on-line the other night. He grunted and drove her there. El picked out some rather odd furnishings the place just wanted to get rid of and went into the shop next door for her suit.

She had just enough time to retrieve her bags from the hotel and deposit them in her new place before she had to go to the interview. The hotel clerk never even knew she was there as she strutted past him, grabbed her stuff and climbed into another cab to go to the apartment.

She dropped her bags inside the door to the bedroom. The furniture wouldn't be here until tomorrow so Mrs Hudson offered her a cot she had in her storage. El gratefully accepted and disappeared into the room to change into her suit. She came out dressed to the nines in a very nice suit.

"Oh you look lovely dear, is that new?" said Hudson

"Yes all my other ones had to be pressed so I bought another" said El

The lie falling smoothly from her lips yet again. El slipped her feet into a pair of heels.

"Where are you off to dear?" said Hudson

She almost slipped up and said she had a job interview.

"Work, I have some paperwork to fill out apparently" said El

"Well if you like I serve the boys dinner around eight, you are welcome to join us if you like" said Hudson

El checked her thoughts, picking up the worry that someone named Sherlock would scare her away.

"I would be delighted" said El

She grabbed her purse and ushered Mrs Hudson out, so she could lock the door.

"Well good luck then and I'll see you later tonight" said Hudson

El nodded yes and headed for the door. She waved goodbye to the old woman and climbed into a cab two men just exited.

The blond of the two looked vaguely familiar but El had no time for idle chit chat.

Mrs Hudson was on the outside of the building shoving something into the front of the mailbox for apartment C.

"She rented it?" said John

Sherlock paused his hand on the doorknob.

"Come along John we've no time for that now" said Sherlock

"Oh yes, yes she did just put the first of her things in a few minutes ago, she had to go to work poor dear she just got here and already they call her in."said Hudson

"She did not just get here she's been here for quite some time, staying in a hotel I'd imagine" said Sherlock

Mrs Hudson frowned at the young man.

"Don't you dare frighten this one away Sherlock I cannot afford for that place to be empty much longer" said Mrs Hudson.

Sherlock snorted and walked inside. John gave the old woman a reassuring pat on the shoulder and followed him inside. She huffed and followed the two men inside.

"I mean it Sherlock I have invited her to dinner and you will behave" said Mrs Hudson

Sherlock was of course ignoring her. The door slammed upstairs and Mrs Hudson fumed. John quietly opened the door and followed him inside.


	2. Chapter 2

Eldritch 2

She sat in the small room waiting for that Lisa woman to make an appearance. The room was small and sparsely decorated. In short it looked like a hospital waiting room should look, just without any magazines to read. After a few minutes a Man came out

" Miss Rayne?" said the man

El raised an eyebrow in confusion

"yes?" said El

"I'm Eldon Harris, Ms Hayden had some bad taco meat last night and is currently upstairs, so they asked me to fill in for her" said Mr Harris

El smiled oh this was almost too easy, men were so much easier to manipulate than women. An hour later she was filling out paperwork for taxes and company insurance, while Mr Harris was making her employee I. D. badge. He even showed her around the area she would be working in. By the time she was halfway through, she was seriously worried she had poured just a bit too much into her charms because he was utterly beguiled by her.

She started slowly pulling it back and hoped it would wear off some after she was gone or he was going to have a serious emotional crash tomorrow. He was hovering all over her the whole while, offering her a ride home and holding doors for her. It was cute and slightly disturbing that it was so easy. When she finally did leave he looked just like a kicked puppy when she climbed into the cab.

"Where to miss?" said the cabby

She briefly thought about going home but decided against it.

"Blackfriars please" said El

"The pier?" said the cabby

"Yes" said El

She had time for a quick stroll by the Thames and maybe a bit more shopping. She honestly wasn't sure if she was ready to meet Mr Holmes just yet. Her new boss had let her have an extra day to get settled in and she was going to stuck for most of it waiting for furniture tomorrow. She leaned back and extended her senses a little bit. She instantly recoiled it, when she was met with some pretty sinister thoughts.

The cabby had murder on his mind. They were just entering Piccadilly square

"On second thought drop me off here" said El

The man hesitated because she had changed his plans, and he wasn't willing to let her go. El put a bit of persuasion behind her voice.

"Please" said El

He wavered again and switched lanes but didn't seem to be stopping. El was getting just a bit worried now so she pulled out all the stops. She leveled a massive amount of power behind her

"Pull over now!" said El in her most commanding tone.

The man swerved nearly hit another car and stopped partially on the curb. El wasted no time and fled the cab leaving his money on the seat. The man sat at the wheel looking slack jawed and with glazed eyes as El sprinted away.

She ducked into the first store she came to and tried to control her frantically beating heart. She was gulping down air in an full on panic attack. The things he wanted to do, no had done.

"Miss are you all right?" said a young man

She looked up at him. He was dressed like a clerk. El forced the calm through her veins and barely restrained the urge to snarl at the boy.

"Yes just had a bit of a fright I'll be fine in a minute" said El

The boy looked uncertain and reluctant to leave her side. Her dismissive tone still held a bit of power though, so he boy started to wander away.

"Very well if you need anything my name's Ben, like the clock" said the boy

He gave a shaky laugh as if he was trying to make a joke. Her hard glare had him scurrying away.

She wasn't sure if the cabby would follow her inside. So she made her way towards the back of the store. She waited for a long time and then scanned outside for his mind before exiting the store. She kept her mental feelers out as she walked, she would deal with the headache tomorrow.

She walked at a quick pace wanting nothing more but to get home now. She headed in the direction of the tube. If she had to walk a few blocks so be it, she was never getting in a cab again. She was nearing the tube when she felt them. Two guys and a woman were watching her closely. El focused on them for a few minutes. By passing the tube stairs she abruptly turned, when she felt the thought about the car.

The men got closer and El ducked into another store. The woman followed her in and El could see her companions waiting outside. The woman was looking around for her so El headed towards the restroom in the back. She ducked inside and hid in one of the stalls. The woman followed her inside. El heard doors open at the end of her row and willed herself not to be seen.

"Miss Rayne?" said the woman's voice.

Her stall door swung open and El literally froze in place. The woman moved on down the row. The woman reached the last one and her cell phone rang.

"No she's not here, I'm checking out the rest of the store. She couldn't have gone far sir" said the woman.

She hung up and walked out of the bathroom. El slowly uncurled and sighed slowly climbing out of the stall. Who were these people and more importantly did they work for him? She closed her eyes briefly. I didn't matter if he did or not she was already making plans to flee. First things first she had to get away from them long enough to get home and grab her things.

Since they were guarding the door and she wasn't sure if any of them could see through her disguise. She said a quick series of words under her breath and watched her features change in the mirror. She got shorter and fatter. Her hair turned darker and so did her eyes. Her clothes shifted so she was wearing a dumpy sweater and an ugly khaki skirt.

She smiled at her reflection and a gap toothed smile smiled back. She shuffled towards the door and listened intently. When no minds or sounds greeted her she calmly stepped out of the restroom. She slowly made her way around the store, grabbing a basket at the end of the row. She put a few random items in her cart and moved past the woman in the sharp suit with a phone in her hands.

The woman never even gave her a passing glance. El moved towards the register and set her basket on the counter. She was only half listening to the chatty cashier while she focused on the woman with the phone.

"Of course I checked the cameras" said the woman

"No only one person came out." said the woman

The cashier finished shoving her purchases in a bag and El took it from her hand. She started towards the door mentally cursing herself. She had forgotten the cameras. She heard the clack of heels behind her. She passed the two men but she heard the woman point her out. She increased her pace and noted she now had all three of them behind her. She walked towards the crossing light.

A black car was pulling up to the curb, it was blocked in by traffic. She suddenly bolted not towards the crossing light that had just changed but towards the traffic that was about to start moving forward. Tires squealed and people honked as she darted between now moving cars and for the opposite road. The men and woman stopped at the curb. She just barely made it to the other side and kept running. Darting through the crowd at breakneck speed.

She didn't slow until the irritated minds faded into background buzz. A bus was pulling up to the curb she quickly climbed onboard shoving her bill into the slot and made her way towards the back. She slouched down in her seat and slowly shed her disguise. She left the hair though no need to shock the other passengers.

She transferred buses and got on the tube near West Minister. She rode it around for awhile and then switched lines getting off at the queens gardens. She walked back towards baker street now throughly exhausted but still making plans to run for it. She was halfway to the house when the car pulled up. The window rolled down

"Get in" said the man inside.

She ignored him and kept walking. The car parked and the woman got out.

"Miss Rayne, I am afraid I must insist, please do not run again, I will be most annoyed if we must restrain you" said the woman

El regarded her for a moment debating her course of action. She also could feel the men inside her flat. She wasn't getting anything off the woman or the man in the car. At least nothing that related to him, so this was about something else.

She walked towards the car and opened the door. She climbed into the car and the woman followed. The man was staring at her as if sizing her up. She laced her fingers on her lap and stared back. They sat in silence for a few moments each sizing the other up. He was reading her she could tell just by the way his eyes raked her. He was taking her apart with his eyes. She was dissecting him back with her mind and senses. He suddenly smiled and she found it slightly unnerving. He was trying to get her to speak first but she was patient.

"That was quite a impressive performance, I've half a mind to hire you, how did you achieve it by the way?" said the man

She smirked back at him. This man was as smooth as a snake and most likely as deadly. She lightly skimmed his surface thoughts to see what this was about. She caught mild attraction for her and a concern for someone named Sherlock. Everything mentally fell into place after that. His thoughts towards this Sherlock weren't menacing which meant, meddle some family.

"What is this in regards to?" said El.

She let the irritation creep into her tone because that is what she was feeling, very very irritated. She felt very threatened and didn't like that she had almost fled town because of this man .

"I believe you already know what this is in regards to, but for the sake of propriety I will spell it out for you, as it were" said the man

"You have rented the flat at 221C, don't bother to deny it, I've already verified it" said the man

She narrowed her eyes at him. This man was decidedly very annoying.

"Yes so?" said El

She decided to play along for a few minutes,at least until she got bored. He smiled and she could feel just a bit of pride leaking off of him. The car started to pull away from the curb and El got suspicious.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I have been remiss in my manners, I'm Mycroft Holmes" said the man

Holmes now why did that name sound familiar?

"Where are we going?" said El

She didn't like the idea of going anywhere with this man and didn't care if he knew that. He frowned ever so slightly.

"To a venue more, accommodating" said Mycroft

She wasn't sure she liked that idea, since the last man that said that to her chained her in his basement like a dog. He was watching her closely trying to read her mood based on her expression. El kept hers carefully flat not willing to give the older Holmes anything. She had finally placed the name as belonging to one of her upstairs neighbors.

"Why?" said El

Mycroft laid his hands over the end of an ornate silver topped cane. She absently noted it was a sword driver was pulling up to a rather fancy restaurant she narrowed her eyes at it and then glanced at Mr Holmes. He looked smug too smug, time to bring him down a peg. The car stopped and everyone seemed to be waiting on Mr Holmes for some sort of confirmation.

He nodded towards the woman and she stepped out onto the street. The car door closed and she was alone with Mr Holmes, even the driver vacated the waited patiently for Mr Holmes to talk.

"Who are you Ms Rayne? I must confess the background you created for yourself was masterful, rarely have I seen a more detailed cover. I am most impressed" said Mr Holmes

Obviously it could have been better or Mr Holmes' people were much too thorough.

"Why should it matter to you who I am?" said El

She saw and felt the irritation flare behind his eyes.

"Because you will be in close proximity to my brother, that is why it matters Miss Rayne, if that is even your real name" said Mycroft

She felt the worry beneath the anger and decided she should address that instead.

"I live in the same building Mr Holmes, not the same apartment and I am sure your brother is capable of looking after his own affairs" said El

Mycroft snorted as if what she said was ludicrous.

"So you are indeed American or have at lest spent some time there" said Mycroft

"Yes, so what if I have?" said El

She was beginning to see a pattern here, that she did not like one bit. She met the man's eyes cooly and he stared back with the same vacant expression. Then it suddenly changed and Holmes leaned forward.

"Who is he?" said Mycroft.

She barely controlled the flinch in time but his words felt like a slap nonetheless. She still gave herself away she could tell by the smug smile playing on his lips. His amusement only served to kindle the fury within her. How dare this smug little man sit there and judge her, when he had no idea what she had been through.

The last part calmed her. He did have no idea who she was and for all he knew, she could be a threat to his brother. Even though she could easily be one if she chose, that wasn't who she was now. She valued her freedom too much to risk leading him to her by doing something so blatantly her.

She chose to ignore the question because she had no wish to revisit the nightmares tonight.

"Not anyone you have to worry about" said El

He snorted

"Forgive me if I seem less inclined to believe your assessment" said Mycroft

She smiled at Mycroft

"I really could care less what you believe" said El

he snorted

"Then perhaps you are less intelligent than I gave you credit for" said Mycroft

She smiled at him.

"Or perhaps you simply do not scare me Mr Holmes" said El

In truth the man wouldn't be scary to most people. In fact he was the type to get overlooked , that was a definite mistake because there was more to this man than met the eye. A mistake she would not be making anytime soon. He chuckled softly.

"I believe we have gotten off on the wrong foot, so to speak" said Mycroft.

She smirked because she knew he was back peddling. She could agree with him, his impression thus far had been less than favorable.

"Yes, you could say that" said El

He glanced out the window at the restaurant. She could tell he was planning something but not what. He turned back towards her.

"Mrs Hudson usually serves dinner at eight, it is now past that, will you allow me to treat you to dinner in recompense?" said Mycroft

She had been expecting a threat or something of the like. A dinner invitation was furthest from her mind.

"I guess that would be fine" said El

He had thrown her off guard and he knew it. He motioned for the door

"After you" said Mycroft

The woman opened the door for her and El stepped out of the car. She couldn't help but think this was odd, essentially this man had abducted her and now he was taking her to dinner. She waited by the car for him to exit. The woman was by the door and the two men were flanking it. The restaurant looked deserted and possibly closed. She turned back towards the car and watched as Holmes climbed out of the car. He straightened his suit and calmly walked towards the door. She detected no limp so she assumed the cane is ornamental or defensive.

"This way my dear" said Mycroft

He walked toward the door and the woman held it open for him. El reluctantly followed him inside. She was right about the building being deserted but not about it being closed. A waitress met them at the door and escorted them to a table in the back near a small indoor fountain. It was surrounded by plants on all sides creating a kind of cozy grotto that would have been romantic had she actually come here with a date.

Mycroft actually pulled her chair out for her before settling into his own. She noted as he passed her that he was armed with a shoulder holster hidden beneath that expensive looking jacket. She settled into her seat and picked up the menu the waitress had just set down in front of them. The waitress retreated to the kitchen leaving her and Mr Holmes in a deserted restaurant.

Mycroft picked up the menu and read it over with a glance. He had been here before and knew what was good and what wasn't. He seemed disinclined to speak at the moment so El picked up her own menu.

"If I might make a suggestion the stuffed manicotti is absolutely divine" said Mycroft

His voice startled her because it had been so silent a minute ago. El lowered her menu slightly and regarded her companion for a second. He looked like he had enjoyed one too many of those stuffed pasta shells already. He folded his menu and waited for her to do the same. She picked what she wanted off the menu and folded it back up lying it on top of his.

"Eldritch, may I call you Eldritch?" said Mycroft

she nodded yes in his direction. It wasn't like she could stop him either way. He smiled at her. She guessed he was attempting to put her at ease but it just was not working. She was rapidly losing her patience for this mans theatrics as well. The waitress approached and paused by the table. She looked nervous for some reason and El regarded her for a few minutes.

"May I take your order sir?" said the woman

Mr Holmes gave her an irritated look. El guessed he was unused to being interrupted.

"I will have my usual" said Mycroft

The girl looked confused. Mycroft sighed murmuring something about newbies under his breath he turned towards the girl.

"The stuffed manicotti and don't forget the garlic bread" said Mycroft

He turned towards El as if he was planning on ordering for her. The girl turned towards her. She was biting her bottom lip in a clear nervous gesture. El didn't blame her Mycroft's tone had been less than cordial.

"I'll have the portobello linguine and a side of eggplant parmesan" said El

"What would you like to drink miss" said the waitress

El wanted to order some of that lemon-cello but getting drunk in this man's presence was a bad idea at best. She was about to ask for some ice water but Mycroft

"She'll have a glass of your finest pinot as will I" said Mycroft

The woman wrote it down and grabbed both menus and retreated as quickly as she had come.

"Now where was I, oh yes I believe we were getting to know one another"said Mycroft

She frowned at him.

"Is that what you call it?" said El

She sounded vaguely amused. It was obvious he wanted something beyond ensuring his brothers safety. He smirked at her.

"Yes well, that is usually what people do when they treat a beautiful woman to dinner"said Mycroft

So now it was flattery. She kept her face impassive. He set something on the table a small square of paper. He shoved it towards her. Curious she picked it up. It was a business card with a phone number below his name and an amount written on the back, it was 10,000 pounds. She mentally did the math. He was offering about 15 grand for what?

"I simply want information, a heads up if you will whenever my brother is over his head" said Mycroft "Don't you have people for that?" said El

She glanced towards the front doors, where the woman and the two men still stood. He chuckled and tilted his head towards her.

"Yes but I need someone I can trust, provided you are indeed trustworthy Eldritch. Are you trustworthy Eldritch?" said Mycroft

She snorted she didn't really think she was and the offer was tempting. It would insure if she ever did lose her job she would still be able to pay her rent but something nagged at her. She shoved the card back in his direction.

"Trustworthy people don't spy on their friends or neighbors Mr Holmes" said El

He smiled at her as if he had been testing her and she had somehow passed.

"Yes but if I recall correctly, you have yet to meet my brother. So you can't really consider him a friend as of yet, now can you?" said Mycroft

She shook her head no.

"Did I mention the amount was monthly?" said Mycroft

He knew she needed the money he had checked her finances and found the note from the currency exchange. She was willing to assume he had checked for bank accounts and most likely found nothing.

"Why?" said El

She was picking apart his mind and had yet to find a reason for Mycroft's request.

"I beg your pardon, why what?" said Mycroft

"Why are you trying to spy on him? Why not simply put cameras in his place? Like your men are doing to mine?" said El

Mycroft shifted uneasily and El smirked. He had put cameras in there before then.

"My brother has a talent for finding whatever surveillance methods I use" said Mycroft

The look he gave her was a bit respectful. El smirked wondering just how difficult it was to hide cameras in a place with no furnishings.

"I see then why do you bother? Just what is big brother trying to protect baby brother from?" said El

He tilted his head and regarded her. He was still staring at her without answering, when the waitress set their food on the table. She retreated after she poured them each a glass of wine. She left the bottle of wine there as well, it was already uncorked. Mycroft watched the woman until she vanished inside the kitchen

" My brother has a singular talent for finding people who wish to murder him or who indulge his whims to the point he harms himself" said Mycroft

El frowned from his description Sherlock sounded almost suicidal, perhaps he had good reason to be concerned. Or he was stringing her a line of bull. She stabbed a piece of her eggplant and raised it to her lips, remembering to blow on it to cool it for a few seconds.

"Have you considered counseling?" said El

Mycroft took a sip of his wine then set it down with a dark chuckle.

"He has seen a multitude of therapists over the years, the last one quit the profession and became an exotic dancer I believe" said Mycroft

He had omitted details she could tell. She wondered if Sherlock was the only one of the brothers to scare counselors away from the profession. She took a bite of the linguine twisting the noodles around her fork before lifting it to her mouth. They were steaming but she didn't care, she had to admit she was intrigued by this man.

Did he really think she was so simple as to be swayed by sympathy. He took another sip of the wine, el had yet to touch hers. She was almost finished with her meal and rapidly losing her patience.

"So you are what, trying to keep him from indulging in certain recreational activities? Can't imagine that would make you very popular" said El

"Alas no Sherlock refers to me as his nemesis, his arch nemesis to be exact, you should try the wine it is quite good" said Mycroft

El giggled, that was just silly and overdramatic.

"So he thinks your a comic book villain, what is he like twelve?" said El

Mycroft laughed along with her.

"No, if he were he would be much easier to control, he is in fact only a few years younger than me. He simply lacks maturity in some areas" said Mycroft.

He was almost done eating as well and El was going to have to turn him down just on general principal. She took a sip of the wine just to see if he was right and followed it with another bite of the food. He was right the wine was good and so was the food.

She wasn't sure she wanted to get in the middle of this little family feud or devote any of her spare time to watching her neighbors. She finished the last bite of food and wiped her mouth with the cloth napkin by her plate.

He was watching her again and she could tell by his expression, he had already guessed her answer. He waved for the check.

"Mr Holmes, your offer is quite generous and I thank you for this lovely meal, but I am afraid I must decline your offer" said El

She slowly stood adjusting her clothes as she rose. Somewhere along the way her outfit had reverted back to her suit as had her hair. She wondered if Mr Holmes had watched it change. He stood up with her opening his mouth to try once more to convince her. She felt bad for him somewhat and that softened her response some.

"I will however notify you, should he do anything that sets off all of my warning bells, and that won't cost you a thing" said El

She picked up the card off the table and shoved it in her bag.

"Are you planning to walk home?" said Mycroft

"Maybe" said El

The sky had darkened and it looked like it might rain again. The waitress slipped past her to deposit the bill on his table.

"Have a good evening Mr Holmes" said El

He opened his mouth to protest, but she was out the door before he could say anything. The woman looked up and so did the men, they glanced inside at Mr Holmes, as if to ask do you want us to chase her boss? Mycroft shook his head no.


	3. Chapter 3

Eldritch3

She was irritated and slightly fuming. Of course she intended to walk it calmed her down. Mycroft Holmes was an unwelcome intrusion to her life right now. She had half a mind to pack up anyways. She closed her eyes for a second while she stopped for a light. No she wouldn't run. That would only prove his assessment and more than likely draw his attention. The last thing she need was another pursuer.

The crossing signal beeped and she opened her eyes and blended with the moving crowd. One thing she knew was for certain the Holmes brothers were a lot more dangerous than she had originally thought. Running from them was out because she had no idea how far Mycroft's influence extended within their government. The last thing she need now was Britain's secret service following her.

Of course it probably already was she thought remembering the men in her flat. She would have to fry anything Mycroft had put in there just to make sure it didn't lead to him finding her. She would have to wary when she met the younger holmes. The last thing she needed was to pique his curiosity. Not when he was friends with the police.

She spotted the red and blue symbol for the London underground and headed for it. When she reached it she fumed. He had taken her all the way across town to west harrow. She seethed as he headed down the stairs. She reached into her bag to see if she had enough change for the tickets and froze in shock.

There was a neat bundle of crisp one pound notes in her bag. She could swear they hadn't been there before. Mycroft, it was the only explanation. He must have anticipated her wanting to find her own way home or simply had no intention of offering her a ride back. She would be willing to bet it was the later, he seemed like the type of jerk to leave someone high and dry like that.

She sincerely hoped it wasn't a family trait. She shoved the money into the ticket machine and retrieved the ticket. Thankfully he had chosen a place on a line that went to baker st. She walked down to the platform and waited with the small smattering of people also waiting for the train. She pulled her phone out to look at the time and frowned. Someone had added a phone number to her contacts.

She normally didn't keep any entries in her contacts. She opened it and frowned, promptly deleting the entry when she saw it. She growled at the cheek of the man. One of the other people waiting moved away from her. She noted the time and shoved the phone back in her bag. Great it was nearly 9 o'clock

She had no idea how he had done it or when. She supposed he could have had his people do it. Maybe the woman had done it when she got in the car. The phone they could have hacked she doubted a prepaid had that many protections against hacking. That is why she normally kept hers empty.

She heard the train well before its arrival and calmly walked onboard. She took a seat near the window and tried to calm down so she could think. She had no idea why she had taken his card. Maybe it was because despite his cold exterior she did pick up a very real concern for his brother. She didn't appreciate his scare tactics though and the theatrics were just childish.

She wondered how many people would have fallen for those tactics, perhaps that's why he kept using them. The announcer sadi baker was the next station so she got closer to the aisle. The train slowed to a stop and she got off. She headed for the stairs because a group of people were already waiting for the elevator. She climbed them and exited on her street for the second time today.

"Once more with feeling" she muttered beneath her breath.

She walked at a quick clip towards home, reaching it this time without incident. She quickly unlocked her door and headed for the stairs. A note was tacked to her door. She pulled it down and opened it.

"S_orry to miss you for dinner I had the boys put the cot inside_ for _you. See you tomorrow said the note it was signed Mrs Hudson. _

El snorted and unlocked the door. Sitting in the center of her living room was one of those folding guest beds. She locked the door behind her and dropped her bag by the door. She slipped off her heels and headed slowly towards her bedroom. The tiredness was starting to set in as the fear and anger started to wane. Her bags were closed completely when she knew she had left the zipper at least partially undone. Which meant either Mycroft's men or the boys had gone through her things.

She supposed she should be angrier about that but she just couldn't muster the strength to care. She unzipped her clothes and pulled out her nightgown. She stripped off her jacket and reached for the buttons on her shirt. A sudden horrifying thought froze her fingers mid unbutton. What if he placed cameras in her room?. Anger kindled anew and this time she did nothing to quell it. She pulled energy and let it build for a few seconds. Then with a murmured word, she released it all in a short Emp pulse.

The area above the doorframe made a sizzling noise and a puff of smoke drifted upward. She smirked and undid her top. Dropped it on the floor and slid the skirt down her legs. It pooled around her ankles and she stepped out. She undid her bra and slid her panties off, then pulled the sleep shirt over her head. She walked in the bathroom and noted the char mark above the light fixture. She brushed her teeth and laid her toothbrush on the counter. Wandering back into the living room she noted several char marks above the door frames. She smirked and unlatched the bed and folded it down.

She put the sheets Mrs Hudson had set on top of it on the small mattress. She situated the small blanket and slid under the bedding. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

The sound of the bell, stomping feet and her upstairs neighbors protesting something woke her. Her head was killing her and she knew it was from over use. She slid out of bed with a groan and stumbled her way towards her room. She dug in the outer pocket of her bag for her pain killers.

Found them and dry swallowed two, after remembering she had no glasses yet. She leaned her head back and rubbed her eyes. She really needed some coffee and something to eat. The voices upstairs got louder. She narrowed her eyes in irritation. Grabbing a pair of cut off sweat pants and a ratty old tank top.

She stripped and pulled them on. She was only lounging around the house today so no need to look fancy. She slid on her sandals and headed back into the living room area. Stripped the bed and refolded the sheets. She wasn't sure where the laundry room was in this building so she would have to ask Mrs Hudson.

She folded the bed up and dragged it towards the door. Opened the front door and started dragging the bed up the stair case. A man was standing on the stairs for some reason.

"You could try helping you know" said El

The man looked shocked for a few seconds. Then moved forward, to help her get the bed up the stairs and into the hallway.

"Anderson where the hell are those bags?" said a dark skinned woman coming down the stairs.

"I just.. Yeah hold on Sally" said the man

He bolted for the door as if burned. The woman was staring at her.

"Who the heck are you?" said Sally

El turned towards her noting instantly the irritated look and the badge.

"Eldritch, I rented the downstairs flat" said El

A crashing noise came from upstairs and swearing. El pointed towards the sound ignoring the pitying look the woman was giving her. El caught the thought before the woman voiced it and cut her off with a question.

"Have you seen Mrs Hudson?" said El

Sally frowned at her and pointed upstairs just as Anderson came back inside carrying a handful of plastic bags. El ignored them and climbed the stairs.

"What she needed help" Anderson protested.

El heard a thud and the sounds of Anderson and Sally following her up. El stopped in the doorway and Anderson and Sally brushed past her. Sally gave her a glare that El didn't bother to piece together. She looked over the room. There were cops everywhere.

John and a man with dark hair were arguing with a sandy haired man with slight graying in his hair.

"A drugs bust really?" said John

El looked past them for Mrs Hudson. She was picking up a lot of hostility in this room and it seemed to be mostly directed towards the black haired man. El wondered briefly, what he could have possibly done to warrant that level of animosity. She spotted Mrs Hudson wringing her hands. She was talking to John about some sort of herbal remedy for her hip. El stepped into the room.

One of the cops gave her a look that clearly meant, get out. El simply ignored him and moved towards Mrs Hudson. El could clearly pick out her worry from where she was.

"_oh please don't change your mind and leave, Sherlock's not a bad sort really he's not" _

El quickly dismissed it from her mind, if she had truly wanted to leave she would have packed this morning.

"Oh good morning Eldritch dear, you got in late last night. Did you sleep alright? Oh you probably need some help with the cot. I'll send the boys down in a bit" said Mrs Hudson

"Actually I already got it or rather Anderson helped me get it already" said El

A couple of the officers turned to look at Anderson. Sally glared at him from the kitchen. Anderson quickly turned away, and started flipping over couch cushions before making his way to the back room.

"Was there something else you needed dear?" said Mrs Hudson

"Actually yes, I forgot to ask, where is the laundry?" said El

Mrs Hudson visibly relaxed though she still glared irritation at the policemen trashing the flat.

"Oh is that all dear, its in the cupboard at the end of the hall" said Hudson

John looked very embarrassed by something and she could guess it had to do with the cops.

"Thank you" said El, she made as if to withdraw.

"Oh I almost forgot did you eat anything yet dear" said Mrs Hudson.

At that moment Sally came out of the kitchen holding a bag filled with red slime.

"Are these eyes, human eyes?" said Sally

"Yes now put them back" said the dark haired man.

"But I found them in the microwave!" said Sally

She held them up in El's direction as if to say, see I told you so. El to her credit didn't even flinch but she did lose her appetite.

"They're an experiment, Lestrade is this necessary?" said the man

El quietly retreated towards the door.

"Yes Sherlock it is, if you would only learn not to with hold evidence.." said Lestrade

"I found it! I found the case!" said Anderson

He came out of the back room carrying a pink travel case.

"Oh look the victim's suitcase right where you said it would be, with the killer" said Anderson

El decided a strategic retreat was in order, but Lestrade must have been curious about just who she was, and what she was doing at the crime scene.

"Excuse me miss.. Ah " said Lestrade

"Oh for crying out loud, you know I just retrieved that from a rubbish bin" said Sherlock

"I could arrest you Sherlock" said Lestrade

The cops around the flat became hopeful and smug. El decided she would use the moment to retreat again. One of the cops blocked her exit. He was writing something down.

"Your name miss?" said the cop.

"Why do you need that?" said El

The cop was momentarily shocked by her hostility. He frowned

"Her name is Eldritch and she rented the flat downstairs, now do stop bothering my tenants" said Mrs Hudson

She shooed El towards the door. The cop wrote down her name and opened his mouth to say something more.

"Come along dear, I'll show you how the machine works, its old and a bit tricky" said Hudson

Mrs Hudson walked out of the door and el followed her downstairs. Mrs Hudson walked to the end of the hall and opened a cupboard to reveal a stackable washer and dryer. Mrs Hudson turned a knob and showed El how to open a valve to get the water flowing. It wasn't really all that tricky but El was grateful for the rescue.

"Its for everyone in the building, so try not to leave clothes in it, you can keep your soap up here" said Hudson.

She tapped a shelf to the right of the machine. A bottle of liquid soap was already sitting there. El nodded

"Now how about some biscuits while the boys are busy" said Hudson

El smirked, Mrs Hudson certainly was a character. Footsteps sounded on the stairs and the cops came down. One of them was carrying the case. The one known as Lestrade stopped on the stairs and regarded El for a moment. El regarded him back and read what he was thinking off his surface thoughts. He came forward with his hand outstretched.

"Detective Inspector Lestrade and you are?" said Lestrade

"Eldritch"said El

She took his hand briefly and shook it.

"Can I ask your where abouts last night, Miss Eldritch?" said Lestrade

She narrowed her eyes at him and picked up the stray thought that Sherlock might have gotten the case from her.

"I had dinner with a new acquaintance, why?" said El

The cop behind him was taking notes again.

"You're American?" said Lestrade

El sighed in annoyance

"No I'm Japanese can't you tell?" said el, her tone dripping sarcasm

One of the cops chuckled and covered it with a cough when Lestrade glared at him

"This friend's name?" said Lestrade

"I never claimed he was a friend and his name was Mycroft Holmes. I can give you his number if you wish to verify it" said El

The man behind him stopped taking notes and flipped the pad closed. Lestrade bit his bottom lip

" Never mind miss, it seems I am mistaken, have a good day" said Lestrade

El caught the flash of fear that accompanied the name. The cops filed out of the building leaving El and Mrs Hudson standing there. Mrs Hudson was staring at El in shock. The outer door clicked shut behind them.

"He took you to dinner?" said John

El turned to see him standing on the stairs.

"Yes but it was closer to kidnapped me to dinner" said El

John shook his head.

"Ooh that man, he didn't frighten you too badly did he?" said Mrs Hudson

El wasn't sure if she was referring to Mycroft or Lestrade. Sherlock was ranting and kicking stuff upstairs.

"No not at all" said El

John smiled at her.

"Oh good, well at least we know why you missed dinner" said Hudson

John snorted

"Dinner, she warrants dinner and I get a dilapidated factory" said John

El blinked in shock as the old woman headed for her door. Footsteps sounded on the stairs and El looked up. Sherlock was staring at her very intently.

"He offered you money but, quite obviously you did not accept and you lied, he did frighten you." said Sherlock

He looked down at her legs for some reason and then back up at her face.

"He frightened you bad enough you darted through traffic to avoid him" said Sherlock

"You could have gotten that with a phone call" said El

Sherlock smiled at her.

"I need to get into your flat" said Sherlock

El raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" said El

Sherlock smiled at her again. It was a smug little smirk that said he knew something she didn't.

"Dinner?" said John

Sherlock rolled his eyes and gave John a look.

"Yes John in case you haven't noticed. Ms Rayne is a bit more aesthetically pleasing than you are, it stands to reason she would warrant a nice Italian dinner does it not?" said Sherlock

John looked completely shocked by the statement.

She could tell what he was doing and it was not going to work on her

"Sherlock what did you leave in my flat?" said El

John had been opening his mouth to say something more.

"Oh Sherlock, please say you didn't" said Mrs Hudson

Sherlock ignored her.

"How much did he offer you?" said Sherlock

El read his surface thoughts and groaned.

"You left a murder victim's things in my flat didn't you?" said El

Sherlock opened his mouth to protest. El groaned and walked towards her door. Unlocked it and walked inside. John and Sherlock followed her in.

"I'll just bring the muffins down there then" said Mrs Hudson.

Sherlock walked past El and into the bedroom. He unzipped her case and dug through it. He came up with a small purse that El didn't recognise. He looked smug until he spotted the look on her face.

"You know, I usually require a man to at least buy me a drink before they get their hands on my underwear" said El

Sherlock frowned at her, and opened his mouth to reply, when he spotted the small scrap of silk attached to one of his buttons on his sleeve. He pulled them off and tossed them on top of the bag.

El smirked at him because he had just a bit of pink in his cheeks. John looked a bit shocked and then irritated.

"Sherlock!" said John

Sherlock tossed the bag in the air and caught it. John let loose a string of swear words under his breathe.

"Relax John, they had no reason to even look down here" said Sherlock

His eyes were riveted on the doorway behind John. El looked where he was looking and mentally swore.

"It was ten thousand pounds a month" said El

Sherlock stopped and John turned back to her with an incredulous look on his face. Sherlock smirked at her.

"Should have taken it. We could have split the fee, perhaps next time" said Sherlock

El glared at him as he reached up above her doorframe. Mrs Hudson chose that moment to walk in and nearly hit him with the door.

"I remembered how you took your tea dear, I do hope it isn't too hot, Sherlock what are you doing behind the door?" said Mrs Hudson

He gave her an irritated glare because he couldn't reach what was up there from his position. Sherlock reached for one of the cups. Mrs Hudson slapped his hand

"Go put the cot away first, you should be ashamed of yourself Sherlock.. What if Lestrade found those things on Eldritch? You could have gotten the girl arrested" said Mrs Hudson

Sherlock frowned but went to do as she asked. John walked out the door shaking his head.

"Honestly I do not know what that boy is thinking sometimes" said Mrs Hudson

El restrained the urge to ask her if she wanted to really know what they were thinking because she could tell her. John gave a half started apology until Sherlock called his name.

"He really means no harm though, he's a good sort just a bit hard to get on with" said Hudson

El took a sip of her tea and snagged one of the muffins off the plate. El was picking a bit more of the two men's conversation than Mrs Hudson was privy to. She smirked and bit into the muffin. John was asking about the aesthetically pleasing comment. They were on the way back to her flat now.

"Perhaps we should move this to some place with chairs" said El

She didn't want Sherlock looking over those bugs because then she would have to explain how she fried them.

"Of course I noticed John any male with a pulse would" said Sherlock.

"Oh yes well that does seem to be an issue just yet doesn't it. Did they give you a time dear?" said Mrs Hudson

"No just a window, eight to five" said El

She rolled her eyes

"Oh dear" said Mrs Hudson

The old woman made her way towards the door.

"All I am saying is that was a piss poor way to make a first impression" said John

El barely stifled the giggle in time. Really these two were quite hilarious. They entered the hallway just as El turned and locked her door. Sherlock looked vaguely disappointed as if denied some treat.

"We're moving this upstairs, no chairs" said Hudson

John seemed to agree, it was only Sherlock who looked disappointed. He narrowed his eyes at her as if sizing her up for some reason. The doorbell sounded and broke their reverie. Mrs Hudson shuffled towards the door and opened it. A man was standing there holding a clipboard.

"Package for a.. E. Rayne" said the man

"Ooh that's me" said El

She broke away from Sherlock and went to the door. The man held out a clipboard for her to sign, she did and handed it back. She watched him head for the truck and pile a stack of boxes on a dolly. He wheeled the dolly towards the door.

"Where do you want them miss?" said the man

El stepped aside so he could enter and El directed him to the stairs. She unlocked the door and the man carried several of the boxes down the stairs. Then wheeled his empty dolly towards the front door and back out to his truck.

El knelt down to inspect the top package trying to remember what she bought where. She was partially glad it wasn't the futon she ordered because that would have given them all a place to sit.

"Aren't you going to open them dear?" said Mrs Hudson

The bell rang again and with a sigh Sherlock retrieved a muffin and headed back upstairs.

"Sherlock where are you going?"said Mrs Hudson

"To my mind palace" said Sherlock

El gave him a strange look as he disappeared upstairs.

"I am sorry about that he gets in these moods, he doesn't usually do things like that" said John

"Things like what?" said El

John smiled at her a grabbed a muffin

"I would invite you up but it seems I've got a bit of cleaning to do" said John

John started for the stairs.

"Nice to meet you by the way, I'm John and the bloke upstairs is Sherlock" said John

Mrs Hudson had wandered towards the door and answered it.

"Another package dear, I signed for it hope you don't mind" said Mrs Hudson

El reached down and picked up the box at her feet. It was heavy so El could see why she didn't bother lifting it. El looked at the label as she walked it downstairs. It was her dishes, it must be or one of her end tables. Mrs Hudson retreated to her apartment so El took a moment to cut open the boxes with one of her knives. She sorted through the contents which turned out to be bedding and towels.

She put the towels away and opened the last box. Sure enough it contained her dishes. She walked them towards the kitchen and stopped half there. She would need a chair to retrieve those bugging devices. The bell rang again and finally it was some furniture. Yes it was only a bistro set and some coffee tables but it was a start.

She groaned when she saw they were in boxes. After opening them she realized she needed a screwdriver and most likely a wrench to assemble them. With a sigh she climbed to her feet and headed for the door. Maybe Mrs Hudson had some tools.

She locked her door and headed for apartment A. Mrs Hudson came out carrying more muffins, this time they were blueberry crumble and el wanted to hug the woman. Blueberries were her favorite.

"Oh hello dear what can I do for you ?" said Hudson

"I hate to be a bother but do you happen to have any tools, it seems some of my stuff is assemble it yourself" said el

Mrs Hudson looked regretful

"I am afraid not, perhaps the boys do" said Hudson

"Thanks" said El and climbed the stairs to apartment B.

She rapped soundly on the closed door and John opened it

"Oh Eldritch was it? What can I do for you?" said John

Sherlock was laying on the couch behind him staring at the ceiling. John looked like he had been cleaning.

"Actually I was hoping you had a screwdriver and a wrench" said El

John bit his bottom lip for a few seconds

"Yeah hold on I'll go look"said John


	4. Chapter 4

Eldritch4

She waited in the doorway, while John opened drawers and looked in piles for a screwdriver and a pair of pliars. Sherlock was laying on the sofa just staring at the ceiling. He was awake but appeared to be out of it. She wasn't sure what to make of his behavior so she took a quick read of his surface thoughts. They were chaotic and all over the place. Most of them had to do with murder victims so she withdrew.

"If you're going to come in just do so and shut the bloody door" said Sherlock

She jumped because she did not expect him to say anything. She inched inside and calmly closed the door. As she stood there waiting for John to find those items she let her eyes roam around the room. She could feel someone staring at her so she moved further inward so he would actually have to move to watch her. Something on the wall caught her attention and she moved towards it. It was a bunch of pictures with strings leading to what looked like crime scenes. There was a post it note with a question mark between each one.

"Don't touch" said Sherlock

She stopped mid-reach, because her hand had been reaching out to do just that. She turned to find the man staring at her intensely. She pulled her hand back looking slightly embarrassed by her curious behavior.

"Sorry" said El

Sherlock was still staring at her intently and it was making her nervous. For some reason it felt like he was looking right through her and it made her feel very exposed.

"He offered you a ride but you took the tube instead, which he anticipated" said Sherlock

John gave them both a worried look. She turned back to look at him.

"Another thing you could have gotten from a phone call" said El

She had no idea why she was baiting the man. He was obviously as dangerous as his brother, perhaps more so because he didn't seem to follow established rules. He smiled and moved closer to her. "Sherlock don't" said John

Sherlock seemed to ignore him. She took a slight step back because he was uncomfortably close. He nodded to himself like she had just told him some great big secret.

"You thought he was someone else, someone your very afraid of" said Sherlock

She shrugged it off even if he was currently scaring the shit out of her.

"Or maybe I thought he was some crazy person trying to kidnap me" said El

She stopped herself just in time because she almost said again. He gave her a perplexed look.

"Do people normally try to kidnap you?" said John

She shook her head no.

"Not especially but a girl can never be too trusting" said El

Sherlock gave her that annoying smirk again and she just had to turn away before she gave into the urge to punch him.

"Why not?' said Sherlock

She turned back towards him. She gave him a look that was part incredulous and part disappointed. He stiffened and she knew she had pricked his pride without having to even read him. She looked back at the wall. Out of the seven victims depicted four were female.

"You solve crimes?" Said El

"Yes, the police do call on my expertise in some matters" said Sherlock

He sounded confused so she decided to pity him just a little bit.

"Out of all the crimes you've consulted on about how many of the victims were female?" said El Sherlock frowned and she could almost see him adding up the numbers in his head.

"About 60 to 70 percent why?" said Sherlock

She gave him another look that he seemed to finally get that time.

"Ah I see what you are implying but that doesn't explain why you took the tube which would be more dangerous at night instead of a cab" said Sherlock

She turned her attention back to the wall. Why was it drawing her attention so? There was something her senses were trying to tell her but what was it? Her eyes kept going towards the question marks.

"What are these question marks for?" said El

"I found two but I'm not sure which one you need" said John

He held up a flat head and Philips screwdriver and a pair of pliers.

"Oh that's great, I'm not sure either can I just borrow both?" said El

John smiled at her.

"John get your coat" said Sherlock

John gave him a confused look

"Why?" said John

"We are going out, to dinner" said Sherlock

El looked around the room, she couldn't blame them the house was trashed.

"Do grab your coat Miss Rayne" said Sherlock

She watched as he disappeared into the back room. She gave him a confused look and looked to John for help. He looked equally surprised and confused by Sherlock's behavior. Sherlock came out of the back room buttoning a nice dress shirt. He was pulling on a huge coat as he walked.

"Ah why should I get my coat?" said El

Sherlock draped a scarf around his shoulders and smiled at her.

"Because you have nothing in your ice box, your bistro set is in pieces in a box and it is after five" said Sherlock

El blinked in shock did he just invite her to dinner.

"Okay, I guess you do have a point" said El

He adjusted his cuffs and looked up at her.

"Do hurry they are nearing their dinner rush" said Sherlock

"Ah alright" said El

She walked out of the room and down the stairs to her apartment. John was staring blankly at Sherlock as she left. Not that she blamed the man she was also a bit stunned by the invitation. She unlocked her door and rushed to the back room to quickly change clothes. She was a bit disappointed so few of her orders had arrived yet. She reached into her bag and pulled out some nice slacks and a sweater. Shoved her feet into flats that she could run in if she had to. She grabbed her purse and exited the room.

She found John and Sherlock in her doorway. Sherlock shoved something in his coat pocket. So that was the real reason for the invite she should have known that was his game. Sherlock eyed her up and down and nodded.

"You look nice" said John

Sherlock rolled his eyes and walked out the door.

"Come along people we haven't got all day" said Sherlock

They exited the building and she watched as Sherlock hailed a cab. Her stomach did a nervous little flip flop when a cab finally pulled up. Sherlock opened the door and climbed in.

"After you" said john

El turned to look at the driver. He looked nothing like that guy, in fact he was the wrong race even. Relieved she climbed in beside Sherlock and John climbed in afterwards. Sherlock was still watching her. It was a bit of a tight fit in that small car. John's presence pressed her up close to Sherlock to the point she was touching his side. She was nervous being in this cab after her last experience and Sherlock's rather intense presence by her side was not helping.

"So where are we going?" said John

His voice made her jump slightly because she hadn't expected it.

"Giancarlo's he's an old friend of mine" said Sherlock

He was still staring at her rather intently. The cab pulled up and John climbed out followed by El and then Sherlock. He handed the driver their fare and led the way to the front door. The maitrede knew Sherlock by name and quickly found them a seat.

"Sherlock! How nice to see you again, anything you want it is on the house for you and your lovely date" said a rather large jovial man

"I'm not his date" said El.

The man smiled at her.

"Thank you Giuseppe" said Sherlock

The man nodded and retreated ,after giving Sherlock an encouraging wink and look that plainly said go for it. She didn't need to read his mind to know what he was hoping for. A server came by and delivered some menus.

"what did he look like?" said Sherlock

She lowered the menu she was attempting to read.

"I'm sorry" said El

She was confused and looked at John for some help but he looked equally confused.

"In the cab you were nervous and you checked the driver before climbing inside why?" said Sherlock

She wasn't quite sure how to describe why she had checked the driver. When she didn't immediately answer Sherlock continued.

"You were also extremely nervous during the ride, you kept inching toward the door or me" said Sherlock

She was shocked

"Sherlock!" said John

He sounded appalled.

"Oh for crying out loud John one loud noise and she would have been in my lap" said Sherlock

El blushed deep red. He was right she had been quite close to the man. Someone she barely knew and she had been very nervous.

"It was a small cab" she protested

"Actually it was quite roomie" said John

She was completely mortified. The waitress delivered some breadsticks.

"So what are we looking for?' said Sherlock

He sat back and looked out the front window at the street beyond.

"Huh?' said John

"Think John each of our victims got to their locations with no sign of struggle and they have no connections what so ever, so how did our killer get them to go with him?" said Sherlock

John looked confused

"I don't understand what does this have to do with Eldritch?" said John

Sherlock smiled and pinned El with a glare.

"That's because she has figured it out and better yet she has met the killer, haven't you" said Sherlock

El's mouth dropped open in shock. The waitress came by to take their order. John and El ordered something but Sherlock declined.

"Sherlock you need to eat" said John

"The mind is what is important everything else is just a vessel" said Sherlock

"Yes but even a vessel needs to be refueled and if you deny the brain necessary minerals it will cease to function" said John

Sherlock narrowed his eyes in irritation.

"Well?" said Sherlock

"When you eat something" said El

Sherlock looked from El to John and back again

"Fine I'll have the manicotti, happy now?" said Sherlock

The server jotted it down and retrieved the menus. She retreated and Sherlock turned back towards El. He was waiting for her answer and El was trying to come up with one that omitted certain details without it looking like anything had been omitted in the first place.

"Sherlock what makes you think she's met the killer?" said john

Sherlock rolled his eyes in irritation.

"Because she has, John think what moves through the city unseen yet seen by all. People get into it when they are at their most vulnerable when they are drunk or lost yet they never look at the driver" said Sherlock

"An invisible car?" said John

Sherlock gave him an incredulous look.

"A cab" said El

"Exactly!" said Sherlock

He sounded excited

"I couldn't figure it out until I saw Miss Rayne's reaction to the driver, only someone who has ridden with our killer would react that way" said Sherlock

"Then why isn't she dead, no offence" said John

"None taken" responded El

"I don't know why but I do aim to find out" said Sherlock

He turned his gaze back towards El and she swallowed, feeling like she had somehow done something wrong. John must have sensed her nervousness because he laid his hand over hers.

"It's all right you can tell us" said John

He was trying to be reassuring.

"There's nothing to tell really. I got in the cab told him where I wanted to go except he went in the opposite direction. So I left the money on the seat and bolted at the first light" said El

Sherlock took a deep breath and sat back in his chair. She could tell he was sensing more to her paltry story but she wasn't going to give it to him.

"Then you do know what he looks like" said John

"Of course she knows what he looks like haven't you been listening, no don't answer that of course you haven't" said Sherlock

"Clearly he is a white male I'd say early fifties, out of shape or he would have given chase. You say he went in the wrong direction which would have put you, no don't" said Sherlock

She opened her mouth to tell him and he held up his hand to stop her.

"By the state of your knees I know you darted across heavy traffic and the only heavy traffic within a ten mile radius of our street would be Piccadilly, which means he let you off near the circus. Which means he works for one of two cab companies. The carpet fiber on your sock tells me that you took cover in one of the discount shops most likely one of the tourist traps. You left there and proceeded on foot until you ran into my brother." said Sherlock

He was smirking.

"You managed to avoid him at first but he caught up to you outside the apartment. Most likely when you returned to retrieve something sentimental, good show except for the last part. It is exceedingly difficult to evade my brother" he said

She wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not. It sounded an awful like he was calling her stupid.

"Ah thanks, I think" said El

She couldn't resist just one little reading. She picked off his surface thoughts that he had chosen this restaurant in hopes that the killer would be in the area.

"So what you're just hoping to run into him in a town with thousands of cab drivers?" said El

Sherlock glared at her because she had just aired most of his plan and made it seem absurd.

"No, I am hoping that with your help, we can at least identify him and maybe even catch him" said Sherlock

The waitress delivered the food, El cut off a chunk of the chicken and blew on it to cool it.

"But I already did, or rather you did, all you missed was the hideous hat and you've got him in a nut shell" said El

She smirked and took a bite of her food.

"So what you were planning to just sit here all night and watch for him?" said John

John glared at Sherlock and he reluctantly picked up his fork, cut off a chunk of the pasta and ate a bite. He chewed and swallowed

"Not exactly" said Sherlock

El caught the thought before he quelled it and set down her fork in shock.

"You were planning on using me for bait?" said El

Sherlock shrugged as if she had commented about the table linens.

"Sherlock!" said John

"What John we would be right here, she is perfectly safe" said Sherlock

A waitress was walking by with several glasses of wine from an empty table. El snagged one and threw it in Sherlock's face.

"Be your own damn bait" she hissed.

Stood up grabbed her coat and flounced away. She left the restaurant in a huff. That was twice one of the Holmes brothers had made her feel like a fool. A cab driver across the street lowered his paper started his engine and pulled onto the street right behind El.

She didn't see it but Sherlock did. He jumped up grabbed his coat and lurched into the street as if drunk. "Sherlock?" said john

Sherlock nodded towards the cab currently following a pissed off Eldritch.

"Catch me when I stumble and steer me toward that cab" said Sherlock

John gave him a worried look.

"Are you sure?" said John

"Yes now hurry damn it before he grabs her" said Sherlock


	5. Chapter 5

Eldritch 5

She was swearing at him as she walked, in her fury she almost missed it. She only barely reacted in time. The cab driver had pulled up beside her while she ranted and swore about stupid British boys. She felt something brush across her awareness and instinctively side stepped away from it. She turned and came face to face with the killer. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to scream. That is when Sherlock shoved her aside.

"So sorry love, need it more than you do" said Sherlock

He sounded drunk for some reason. She knew he hadn't drunk a drop all night.

"Sorry sir, this cab is spoken for you'll have to wait for the next one I am afraid" said the cabby.

He looked at El and she backed away from him.

"Nonsense my good man she obviously doesn't want it" said Sherlock

"I'm so sorry sir, he usually doesn't get like this. If you would be so kind, can you just take him home it's not far" said John

El regarded them both with curiosity. What was Sherlock trying to do, get himself killed?

"No sir I can't the cab belongs to the young lady now kindly take your friend and move on" said the cabby

El backed further away and looked for a place to dart back inside to. The cabby reached for her and john intercepted his grab. Sherlock collapsed on the cabs back seat just like a drunken man and promptly acted like he had passed out. El wanted to run away, but that would leave Sherlock and John at this man's mercy, and she knew for a fact he had none. She had moved farther away and they were starting to draw a crowd now. The cab driver suddenly swore and shoved john quite hard so he sprawled onto the ground.

"Hey what the?" said John

The cabby shoved Sherlock's legs inside and slammed the door shut. Then quickly got into the driver's seat. The cabby glanced at El then pulled away from the curb. A passerby was helping John to his feet "Are you all right sir?' said the passerby

El watched the cab pull away from the curb with a horrified look on her face. She could feel the killer's intentions for Sherlock and they weren't good

"John come on he's got him" said El

She grabbed john and headed for the street. She reached out with her abilities and made the first cab she spotted pull over. She flung open the door and climbed inside, John crawled in after her.

"We should take you home first" said John

She gave him an incredulous look.

"John are you daft that was him, follow that car" said El

"What car?" said the cabby

El turned towards the road and swore.

"Where to miss I haven't got all day love" said the cab

El wanted to bash the man's face in but she forced the rage down and calmly reached out for Sherlock's mind. He was calm and still moving. She focused on his eyes and the reflection in the drivers mirror picking out landmark as they passed them.

"Two blocks that way, make a right, go down another block then a left" said El

John gave her a shocked look. The cabby still hadn't moved

"Drive now!" said El

"But miss you haven't given me an address I need it for the gps" said the cabby

"Screw the gps man were in a hurry just drive" said John

The man sighed and put the cab into gear. He followed El's directions but was moving awful slow through traffic. El reached into his head and found out he was friends with the killer. He knew what the man had been doing the whole time and had even covered the killer's absences a few times. Gone to have a few drinks at the pub with the man. He made a turn that El didn't say to make.

"How long have you been friends with Edward?" said El

John gave her a confused look.

"Oh since we were kids went to the same school" said the man

She glanced at his license and noted his name was George.

"You're going the wrong way" said John

"He knows, don't you George?" said El

His license said Geordie but she knew it was a lie.

"How did, never mind. As soon as he's done, he'll call, and I can take you to him" said George

He stopped at a stoplight and foolishly met her eyes through the mirror.

El exerted every bit of the power she had and wrapped her mind around his. She took control of his synapses and motor movements. When the light changed he turned the car back in the proper direction because he had no choice. He was now the passenger in his own head and she was driving the car through him. He fought to try and expel her but had no idea how to even do it. She laughed at his feeble efforts.

From George's mind she picked up Edwards likely destination a deserted boarding school that would insure they would not be interrupted. They pulled up behind the cab Edward had been driving and el only partially released George.

"Remove the gun from your waistband and give it to my friend" said El

George slowly did so. John took a moment to make sure it was loaded

"John go get Sherlock, I need to have a little talk with George here" said El

John hesitated for a moment perhaps he was taken aback by the coldness to her tone. The need to help Sherlock quickly overcame his sense of honor and he got out of the cab. She watched him vanish into the school. Once the door was closed she turned back towards George. He was shaking in his fear. Good she thought he deserves it, in her eyes he was just as guilty as Edward was.

"Put your hands on the steering wheel where I can see them George" said El

He did so and she took a moment to study a picture he had pinned to his license.

"You have a lovely family George" said El

It was true he had a pretty wife and a cute son. She wondered if they knew he was helping his friend commit murder.

"Please, please don't hurt them I'll do anything you want just don't hurt them" said George

"Oh you will do anything I say regardless" said El

He opened his mouth to protest and she exerted her power to slam his jaw shut with teeth cracking strength. He moaned and blood ran down his chin.

"Silence! You've lost the right to speak to me. You have conspired with that madman in there to murder eight people, and were planning to do the same to me and my friends" said El

Anger was slowly taking over but she forced herself to maintain control or else she could literally burn his mind.

"What makes you think you deserve even a shred of mercy... no don't answer that because you don't" said El

She glanced at the picture again and pulled his address out of his head.

"Fortunately for you I am at least somewhat merciful. This is what you will do and keep in mind if you don't. I will visit that nice little two bedroom apartment you have on Drycott place, and say hello to your wife and child. When I am done with my visit they will not even remember your name let alone theirs, now do I have your attention?" said El

The man swallowed and she could feel the fear wafting off him in waves.

"You will wait here for the police, when they show up you will turn yourself in. You will tell them exactly what Edward's been up to and that you knew about it the entire time" said El

A gunshot sounded from upstairs.

"Now stay" said El

She climbed out of the cab and walked towards the door John had vanished through. He came out a second later looking upset.

"Give me the gun John" said El

Dazedly john handed it over and el wiped off his prints.

"I wasn't here or in the cab" said El

She gave John a look and he nodded in understanding. El walked back towards the cab and leaned into it.

"Hold your hand out" said El

George complied without flinching. El put the gun in his hand and shoved her handkerchief in her pocket. She walked back towards John.

"Give me your jacket" said El

"What for and why did you give him back his gun?" said John

"It has gunpowder residue on it and he was going to shoot us with it anyways, why shouldn't he take the fall for Edward's death. Don't worry he won't shoot anyone" said El

John looked shocked. The sound of sirens filled the distance.

"I have to go, remember I wasn't here" said El

She turned and walked away. Crossed a car park and turned down a side street. She walked for several blocks until she reached a tube entrance and vanished inside. The sound of sirens passed by while she headed down the stairs. She got on the first train and switched to another at the next station. She got off near Baker and walked to the flat.

She was just unlocking her door when her phone rang. She opened it and read the text message, it said simply thank you and was signed Mycroft. She walked inside grabbed her laundry bag and walked back out. She shoved her laundry and John's coat into the wash and started it. She opened her fridge looking for something to drink and remembered that she hadn't bothered to stock it yet. Sighing she headed for the front door.

By the time she got back the laundry cycle would be done. She walked to the corner market bought a soda, and a candy bar, and walked back. She was switching out the laundry when Sherlock and John walked in. She shoved the sleeve to John's coat back inside the dryer and turned it on. Sherlock opened his mouth to say something and John shoved him towards the stairs.

El chuckled and walked back inside her flat. She dug in her medicine cabinet for her pain pills. She was chugging one back when someone knocked at her door. El opened it to find John standing there. She raised an eyebrow in query.

"I err... um I wanted... um err do you need any help putting those together?" said John

He pointed at the boxes. El smirked at him.

"Actually yes, I could use an extra set of hands" said El

John smiled at her and she stepped aside to let him in. The sound of a violin started upstairs and El glanced at the ceiling.

"Ah Sherlock, you'll get used to it" said John

El nodded he really wasn't all that bad of a musician, she couldn't name the song though.

"How is he?" said El

She cut open one of the boxes and started pulling out pieces. She found the directions and read them over.

"Calm, you know Sherlock nothing seems to really affect him" said John

He started laying out the pieces in numerical order.

"Thank you by the way, if Lestrade had found that gun on me…I don't know how you did that, but thanks" said John

El retrieved the Philips head screwdriver and the wrench and sat down across from John.

"He was going to kill us wasn't he?" said John

El nodded yes.


	6. Chapter 6

Eldritch 6

She rolled over and groaned, damn her head hurt. John had left last night after they had finished putting together her furniture. John was pleasant company and he did make her laugh. She had to admit it felt good to have a friend. Her only concern was if she had to leave would it hurt more.

She rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom. She filled the cup she kept there with water and dumped two pain pills into her hand. She downed them and set the cup back on the counter. She had her first day of work today and she better get ready before she made herself late. She walked back into the bedroom and pulled one of the suits from the closet and held it up.

It would work if she was likely to be stuck in a cubicle but as an IT person she was likely to be climbing under desks and stuff. She put the suit back and grabbed a nice pair of jean a button up shirt and a leather jacket. She grabbed her purse and keys and headed for the door. She opened her front door and froze. What if the rest of her things came while she was at work?

She sighed and walked towards Mrs. Hudson's door. She knocked and no one answered. After a few more minutes of knocking she realized no one was home. Frowning she glanced at the stairs. He seemed pretty helpful last night and he said he didn't work. She worried the keychain in her hands then made her decision. She climbed the stairs and knocked on their door. John opened it he was wearing a towel and had wet hair.

"oh sorry, didn't mean to interrupt" said El

"No its okay I just climbed out, what can I do for you?" said John

"Actually yeah I've got to go to work and I am still expecting the rest of my furniture" said El

"And you were wondering if I could let them in? Yeah sure no problem" said John

She sighed in relief.

"Thank you, you have no idea how much I appreciate this" said El

She handed him her key and then made her goodbyes. John really was a good guy, she honestly had no idea how he dealt with Sherlock. She bypassed the cab waiting by the curb and headed for the tube. She still didn't feel safe ring with some stranger even if Sherlock had caught the killer. There could be more out there and Edward had been right, a cab driver was the ultimate cover for murderer.

She preferred to just play it safe besides if anyone approached her down here she could always make them go away or hand her whatever money they had on them. She shook her head to dispel that idea. She was a lot of things but a mugger she was not. Her train pulled up and she got onboard, rode it to her stop and got off. She transferred to the bus and got off in front of St Bart's. She used the employee entrance and clocked in just like that guy showed her on the first day.

She stowed her purse and clicked her badge on her jacket pocket. Then headed for her department. There was a list they kept on the main counter for the service calls. El glanced at it and initialed next to the next one on the list. She grabbed her tool bag, a radio and headed up to the fifth floor. Time to fix an x-ray machine.

It wasn't all that difficult just a few loose wires and a slight adjustment to how much power certain parts were getting. She called in that she was done and they sent her down to the morgue of all places.

John had tried to make tea. After finding out they didn't have any cream he went to the store. He left the key to El's place sitting on the counter and told an unresponsive Sherlock to let in her delivery people. John left to go to the store and Sherlock just lay there on the couch.

After a few minutes he became bored and called for john. When the other man did not answer he sighed and got up. When he wandered into the kitchen he saw John had attempted to make tea and there was a key laying on the counter. He picked it up and turned it between his fingers examining it closely.

Noted the lack of scratches which meant it wasn't john's because he kept his keys in the same pocket as his change. It definitely wasn't his and Mrs. Hudson had no reason to leave a key in their flat, which meant. It belonged to Eldritch.

He shrugged and decided he should test his theory. He was bored after all and it was something to do. He changed out of his dressing gown and into some pants then walked downstairs. The key worked in the lock perfectly and Sherlock just couldn't resist the urge to snoop some. She had pitifully few garments hanging in her closet. With the exception of two things most were brand new. Her bedding was rolled up neatly in the corner, also brand new.

Her medicine cabinet was empty of everything except a toothbrush, toothpaste and a bottle of pain killer. Her fridge was likewise empty which only confirmed she had been staying at a hotel previously and had for quite some time. It meshed with his hypothesis that she was on the run from someone but he still had no clue as to why.

She had helped John last night and there was the way that second cabbie had acted. People didn't just turn themselves in like that at least not in his experience. There were very few personal items, no picture frames, no keep sakes nothing to give him the slightest clue who this woman was. He pulled her suitcase out of her closet and examined it closely. Every pocket every opening, still nothing. He was about to give up when he brushed something with his fingers and it clicked. Something popped open at the bottom of the bag. A hidden compartment, was she smuggling drugs?

He pulled it open and found a small wooden box, it contained the most beautiful flute he had ever seen. It looked like glass but he would be willing to bet it wasn't. A handful of passports, each with different names and Eldritch's likeness on all of them. Different hairstyles and colors even different eye colors but they were all her.

A bit of white caught his eye and he dug it out from underneath the pile. It was a photograph. Beaten and worn at the edges and meticulously taped back together. Sherlock frowned at the image. It was a mother, father and a little girl that was most likely Eldritch. She was all of about three or four in the picture. He studied it for a few minutes, then slid it back underneath everything else, where it had been previously. The front bell rang and Sherlock reluctantly rose to answer it.

There was a truck parked outside that said furniture. He sighed and opened the door, signed for the delivery and showed them where to set up the items. Two guys were setting up the bed when the bell rang again. They were almost through setting up her futon when john came back.

"Sherlock what are you?" said John

"Waiting for Miss Rayne's furniture like you requested, I got bored" said Sherlock

He flopped down on El's couch.

"She has rather eclectic tastes but they are comfortable do sit down John" said Sherlock

"Sherlock you can't just invite yourself into someone's home without them being there" said John Sherlock gave john an exasperated expression.

"Why not it's not as if she has anything worth stealing?" said Sherlock.

Except for maybe that flute he amended mentally

John gave his friend an angry glare.

"That is beside the point she trusted us or rather me to make sure her furniture ends up in her house" said John

Sherlock waved his hands indicating the room.

"And voila it has, you've fulfilled your promise now relax John. I simply wanted to get to know our esteemed neighbor a bit better" said Sherlock

"You mean you wanted to snoop" said John

Sherlock gave John a scathing look

"Really John you make it sound so sordid" said Sherlock

"Couldn't find anything could you?" said John

Sherlock gave him a very put upon look. John returned it with a level glare. Sherlock gave up with a sigh "Only a photo if you must know" said Sherlock

He sat up and was about to say more when the bell rang again. John looked at Sherlock who seemed disinclined to move. With an exasperated sigh john exited the flat and climbed the stairs. He opened the door and signed for several more packages. Then held the door so the delivery man could wheel the cart inside.

"It's down the stairs" said John, indicating the short flight of stairs.

The man groaned and wheeled the cart down the short flight and into the door.

"Just set them over there" said Sherlock

The man did so and then quickly left the boxes sitting there. Sherlock was eyeing them and John knew that look.

"No Sherlock, don't you even think about it" said John

Sherlock snorted indignantly

"oh please John, like I need to look to know those are hideous wall hangings and computer equipment. I'm sure the TV will be along shortly because those are DVD's, that hardly requires I open the crates" said Sherlock

He stood up and headed for the door. John watched him with a confused look.

"Where are you going?" said John

"St Bart's, I have something I need to examine" said Sherlock

He held up what looked like a piece of melted plastic. John started to follow him out

"But what about?" said John

"The rest of her things? They will most likely be delivered on the morrow, come along John. I suspect we will run into Ms Rayne at St. Bart's" said Sherlock

John looked even more confused as he followed Sherlock out the door. Sherlock was already to the front door. Sherlock was already hailing a cab by the time john caught up to him.

"I thought you were making a trip to the grocer by the way" said Sherlock

"I was had a bit of a tiff with a chip an pin machine" said John

Sherlock shook his head and waved down a cab. One of them pulled to the curb and john hesitated. Sherlock was reaching for the door handle and caught the hesitation.

"Oh come now John, surely she hasn't rubbed off on you" said Sherlock

John gave Sherlock a level look. Sherlock sighed and stepped back.

"Sir aren't you a gonna get in?" said the cabbie

Sherlock turned to look at the man. Noted it was the same cab company from before and stepped back. "You know what no, sorry to bother you my good man" said Sherlock

He turned and looped off towards the tube with John on his heels.

"Thought you said it was foolish" said John

"It is but there's no sense tempting fate now is there" said Sherlock

He paid for his ticket and johns and handed the other man his ticket before shoving his into his pocket. They had just made it to the platform when the train pulled in. Sherlock walked on and took a seat John followed and took the seat next to the man. They got off near the bank first which turned out was more like a financial house and then of course Sherlock was distracted by another case.

El frowned at the location of her next assignment. No one else seemed inclined to take it though so she did. The elevator spit her out on the correct floor and gradually the amount of human contact began to diminish noticeably. A small door unobtrusively announced she had reached her destination.

There was a small woman with a white lab coat cutting into the body of an elderly man. El paused in the doorway and fought the nausea for a few seconds. When memories started to surface she turned her attention to the woman.

Her first impression was when did they let the homeless start dissecting bodies. The woman must have felt her eyes on her and looked up. She lifted the spatter shield she had on her face.

"Oh Hi can I help you with something?" said the woman

"Ah yeah I'm looking for doctor Hooper, I'm from IT" said El

"Oh that's me, really I put that request in last week, and thank god you're here. Its Molly by the way" said molly

"Eldritch" said El

She gave El a strange look and El just couldn't help herself, she had to snoop_. What a strange name just_ _like Sherlock, ooh I wonder if there related. They have the same skin tone of course so does Mr. Sanders_ _here_ thought Molly

El shook her head and pulled back her tendril when the thoughts started veering towards decidedly stalkerish thoughts of Sherlock.

"So where's the system?" said El

Molly pointed to a dust covered tower in the corner. The first thing she tried to do was turn it on, then she noticed the dried coffee. It was on top of the tower and next to the keyboard. El frowned at it he could guess what had happened to the system.

"So where exactly did the coffee hit it?" said El

Molly paused mid cut and el tried to forget just exactly what molly was doing behind her. She wasn't all that happy about a woman behind her with a dangerous weapon like a scalpel. Then again the woman looked relatively harmless, kind of mousy and petite. She would be pretty if she learned how to dress more like a grown woman and less like she dumpster dived for her clothes.

"Ah all over the top and keyboard Sherlock made me nervous and I sort of dropped the cups" said Molly She looked genuinely embarrassed by the admission. El could readily see why a man like Sherlock would make someone like Molly nervous.

"Does that a lot does he?" said El

Molly sighed and inserted something into the man's chest and started to crank a handle. El truly did not want to know what was making that crunching sound.

"He's just like that, difficult you know. He's just so...so" said Molly

"Intense?" said El in offering.

It was true the man had a very intense personality.

"Yeah! I take it you've met him?" said Molly

El unscrewed the side of the tower to look at the damage. The keyboard was a lost cause, she could just pick up another one out of storage.

"Yeah he's my upstairs neighbor" said El

"Oh Mrs. Hudson finally rented the place did she?" said Molly

"Yes just moved in a few days ago in fact" said El

Molly was reaching into the opening and removing what looked like organs.

"Really where are you from? You don't sound British, then again what do I know?" said Molly

"America actually and you know enough to be a doctor, surly that has to count for something" said El Molly blushed bright red and her eyes teared up.

"Thank you that's very sweet of you" said Molly

"I would have rented the place but Mrs. Hudson is allergic to cats and I'm not getting rid of my babies" sad molly. El was busy gutting the computer so molly didn't see the slight roll of her eyes when she mentioned cats. It's not like she hated the animals she just never had an inclination to own a pet.

"I take it you don't have animals?" said molly

"No, I honestly would have no time for them plus I was moving around quite a bit so it would have been unfair to drag an animal around with me" said el


	7. Chapter 7

Eldritch 7

Molly really was a sweet woman. A bit timid and nervous at times but she had a funny streak in her. El quickly decided she liked the woman despite her morbid career choice. The computer would have to be replaced. The coffee did some serious damage to the internals. So she promised to bring up a loaner for molly, who turned out to be doing her reports by hand for the last few days. Fortunately there hadn't been a rash of deaths or major accidents lately so the work load was mercifully light.

El didn't want to think about how tiring that would be to fill all those out by hand and do their autopsies on top of it. El excused herself and took the tower downstairs to the scrap heap. She retrieved one of the refurbished towers they used as loaners and a new keyboard and carried it upstairs. She had just finished hooking it up when Molly announced she was going to lunch.

"want to join me?' said Molly

El froze because she hadn't a clue how to take that question. No one had ever really asked her to lunch before unless you counted Sherlock's horrid attempt at using her as bait. She scanned molly and found only a slight nervousness and worry that El didn't like her. The request was apparently friendship based.

"sure" said El

Molly smiled and peeled her gloves off and dropped them in the trash. She started for the door and El gave her lab coat a glance. Surly she wasn't planning to eat like that. Molly got the hint and grabbed a new lab coat off the hook by the door. Relieved that molly wasn't intending to make the whole cafeteria lose their appetite with a blood splattered coat, El calmly followed.

The cafeteria was a bit small, thankfully it wasn't crowded so she didn't have to shield as much. The food choices were dismal and she wondered if she had enough to go to the café down the street. Maybe they could split the bill, even a sandwich would be better than this slop.

"What are you thinking the pork or the pasta?" said Sherlock

El almost jumped. She should have seen or at least felt him coming. Was she really being that unobservant? El looked at the two choices he had pointed out and wondered if fruit and a cookie were valid dining choices. Molly looked frozen in shock.

"oh it's you" said molly

El picked up the fruit and a rather bland looking salad.

"Ms Rayne fancy seeing you here, didn't you tell Mrs Hudson that your company transferred you?" said Sherlock

He was fishing but yes she did tell their landlord that little lie. Not that it mattered now she was employed and could cover the rent with no problem.

"It fell through" said el

Sherlock frowned and she could hear what he was thinking but she honestly didn't care. She moved forward in the line. John moved after her.

"I suppose it's never going to trouble Egon Ronay but I would stick with the pasta" said Sherlock

He was talking to molly but El could feel his eyes on her. She wondered what he could possibly want with a mortician

"Wouldn't be doing roast pork not if you're going to be slicing up cadavers" said Sherlock

Privately El agreed with him. Meat of any kind was the last thing you wanted to eat when looking at dead bodies.

"Why did you lie?' said John

El looked up and found John standing a few feet from her. She should have been bothered that once again her thoughts had wandered enough for someone to sneak up on her. She silently cursed she really needed to get that under control before someone more dangerous than her neighbors approached her.

She was reaching for a container of apple juice. Not her first choice but she supposed if she wanted something different she was going to have to either pack a lunch or eat elsewhere. She set the carton on her tray and turned to look at John. One of the first things she learned when she got out on her own was how to lie to someone and have them believe you. Being able to read them like a literal open book also helped.

"I didn't I had a job when I first got here and they decided at the last minute that they didn't need me, so rather than going back to the states when I had already spent a great deal of money getting here. I opted to look for employment elsewhere and voila, so why are you two here?" said El

John was frowning at her but she had met his eyes the entire time she had spoken and not fidgeted once. That was the hardest part not fidgeting or doing any of her nervous habits. Honestly it was the hardest thing for her to learn.

"Oh… ah sorry then, it's just… well you know" said john

He jerked his head in Sherlock's direction. She nodded and walked towards one of the tables. John followed her and she wondered if John was planning on becoming something more than a friend. She could still hear the conversation Molly was having with Sherlock.

"oh what are you having?' said Molly

Sherlock shifted and claimed he didn't eat while working. She was seriously beginning to see his reasoning. He was after something or else he wouldn't be here.

"So why are you two here? "said El

She opened the juice and took a sip. John shrugged

"We caught a case and Sherlock wants to look at their bodies" said John

The distaste must have shown on her face because John looked disappointed. She didn't care she had seen more than enough dead bodies to last her a lifetime.

Sherlock was telling Molly some names so she tuned it out. Until he delivered that seriously bad bit of halfhearted flattery. El frowned at Sherlock.

"What's wrong?" said John

El shook her head.

"I just can't believe she fell for that" said el

John grimaced too so she knew without reading him that he agreed.

"Yeah it was a bit cheesy wasn't it" said John

Sherlock waved at John and he got up with a sigh. He turned to invite her along and El shook her head no. Seriously not her idea of fun, in fact kind of gross if you thought about it. Molly eschewed lunch and led Sherlock down to the morgue. John saw that she had no intention of joining them and politely took his leave. She quickly finished her food or at least the stuff she could stomach. Yes she was definitely not eating there again. She went back upstairs and took another call. The hours blurred until it was time to go home.

She headed for the tube but this time she was paying attention. Sherlock had nearly caught her off guard and she was certain he would have seen right through her lie, but John was a bit more trusting thankfully. She was glad Sherlock was being kept busy with whatever it was they were investigating. If it kept him away from her and her secrets then it was a good thing.

The train stopped at her station and she exited. She slowly trudged down the street and up to her front door. Unlocked the outer door and walked in. it was silent upstairs so she headed for her door. She was tired but not so tired that she was ready to turn in for the night. She dropped her bag by the door and headed for her fridge.

The baking soda stared back at her and she closed the door. With a sigh she headed for her front door again. It was time to do just a little bit of shopping, right after she grabbed a meal. She grabbed her purse and locked her front door. She headed down the street in the direction of the grocery store John had mentioned yesterday.

She stopped at the in store deli and grabbed a burrito once she got there, then she filled her cart. She even grabbed a lunch bag, so she could start bringing her food instead of eating that nasty cafeteria fare. When the cashier finally had all of her stuff bagged up, in the totes she had to buy because the place didn't have plastic, she realized she had a dilemma.

Namely how was she going to get all this stuff home? With a sigh she called a cab to take her home. Sherlock and John were just getting out of another cab when she pulled up. John was gentleman enough to offer to help carry them inside but Sherlock just glared at her. She could feel his irritation and decided to delve into its source. It was the lie he was angry about, he was afraid that she was perhaps a criminal.

She mentally groaned, she would have to come clean with Mrs. Hudson if she didn't Sherlock was libel to blow it all out of proportion. Hudson would believe him over her in a heartbeat, simply because he had been there longer and they had history. The man worked with the police that made him automatically trustworthy in a lot of people's eyes.

She carried the food bags into her kitchen and set them down. John set his stack on the floor while Sherlock glared from the door. El felt Mrs. Hudson before she saw her.

"Oh there you are dear, I seem to have gotten this in my post box by mistake" said Mrs. Hudson

El took the envelope from her hand and flipped it over. The company logo in the corner was from one of the places she used as a cover. She frowned at it because she wasn't expecting anything from them. Mrs. Hudson seemed to be waiting for her to open it.

"Thank you Mrs. Hudson" said El

Sherlock frowned at her again and she picked up one of those stray thoughts. He had already expressed that she was hiding something to Mrs. Hudson and that he suspected her of being a liar. She took a deep breath, time to do damage control. Just a little truth mixed with just enough lie should cover her tracks. She briefly considered offering Hudson tea but realized she didn't buy any. She set the letter on the counter.

"aren't you going to open it?" said Sherlock

She didn't need to look at him to see that smug look on his face. He was hoping Mrs. Hudson would evict her for the lie.

"I will in a moment" said El

She shoved the rest of her food away in cupboards or the fridge. Sherlock was about to say something more when his phone went off. With an exasperated sigh he opened the message.

"come along John we have another body" said Sherlock

He sounded rather happy about that and El couldn't help but wonder if there was something seriously wrong with her upstairs neighbor. John looked less than enthused as he followed Sherlock back up the stairs.

"Thank you so much for your help, John" said El

The man paused by her door and turned back with an embarrassed look on his face.

"you're welcome" said John.

She heard Sherlock's indignant snort and John starting the argument on the way to the cab. She had to agree with John, It wouldn't hurt Sherlock to actually get off his ass and do something. Her gaze landed on her tea machine. She still needed to talk to Mrs. Hudson and it would be easier minus Sherlock.

"I would invite you for tea but it seems I've forgotten the bags, I could have sworn I put some in my basket too" said El

She hadn't really but she needed to give Mrs. Hudson an opening, so she could sit down and talk with the woman. Over tea seemed to be the best approach, it just seemed more British. When in Rome and all that.

"oh I could spare a few bags, have you got a pot?" said Mrs. Hudson

"Machine actually but it heats the water just fine" said El

Mrs. Hudson frowned at her. El did a quick scan of her surface thoughts, the woman wasn't partial to tea machines she preferred the old fashioned kettle.

"I would have gone with the kettle, but I needed something quieter and all they had in the way of patterns was chickens" said El

Mrs. Hudson shook her head.

"Well in that case I understand, chickens really?" said Mrs. Hudson

She made her way towards the door and El filled up the machine and started it up. While Mrs. Hudson was gone she tore into the envelope. Inside was a note and a check, she read over the note. It was from the company's human resources department and it claimed that she hadn't received her severance check when she left them. El frowned because she hadn't really worked for the company but apparently her hack job was good enough they actually thought she had worked there. She looked at the check and gasped.

The amount was huge so she looked at the letter again. Some of it was for moving expenses. She felt bad about taking it but it would make it a little easier in the coming months. She heard Mrs. Hudson on the stairs. She mentally went over what she was going to tell the woman. This check would come in handy collaborating her story.

Mrs. Hudson walked in the door just as the machine dinged saying the water was done.

"Perfect timing" said El

"Oh thank the lord, I'm getting too old for this, darn hip keeps acting up" said Mrs. Hudson

She made her way over to El's bistro set and flopped down into a chair. El pulled down two cups and set the bags inside. Then filled them with water from the machine. She wasn't sure if Mrs. Hudson took milk or sugar so she grabbed her creamer set and filled the cream container with milk. She filled the sugar bowl, then carried both creamer and sugar bowl to the table. She went back for the cups of tea and two spoons. She set Mrs. Hudson's teacup in front of her and then sat down across from her.

She watched as Mrs. Hudson added cream and sugar to her tea and took a sip. She grimaced because of the heat. Mrs. Hudson was a savvy old woman, el could tell by her surface thoughts that she had partially believed Sherlock. El added sugar and just a bit of cream to her tea, then stirred it for longer than she needed to.

"Is something amiss dear?" said Mrs. Hudson

El could have blessed her that was literally the perfect opening.

"Yes and no, I have a bit of a confession I need to make" said El

She was reading the woman to gauge her reaction, if she had to she would simply wipe the woman's memory of this conversation.

"Go on dear" said Mrs. Hudson

"You know how I said my company transferred me when I signed the lease" said el

_Oh no please say she isn't moving out because she can't afford it._

"yes I remember you saying something like that" said Mrs. Hudson

El made a face.

"Well they kind of decided they didn't need me anymore after I had already moved here, that letter is my severance pay" said El

Mrs. Hudson looked worried and El didn't need to read her to know what it was about.

"fortunately one of their girls in HR took pity on me and called over to st Bart's, I actually started there this morning" said El

Mrs. Hudson let out an audible sigh of relief.

"Oh dear is that all, don't scare an old woman like that" said Mrs. Hudson

She covered her heart with her hand.

"Sorry, it's just that I ran into Sherlock and John this morning, and Sherlock remembered me mentioning about the transfer, and I realized I hadn't told anyone. Rather embarrassing actually" said El

Mrs. Hudson took a sip of her tea and then waved off her worries with one hand.

"oh don't you worry yourself over something so silly, it can happen to anyone. Just next time do say something, and I'll work with you" said Mrs. Hudson

El sighed in relief. She could pick up the old woman's intention of talking to Sherlock about his aversion to her. She firmly resisted the urge to smirk. She took a sip of her own tea and had the sudden urge for some cookies

"you know something that would make this tea a whole lot more enjoyable" said el

Mrs. Hudson gave her a confused look

"those cookies I just bought, I've never had a jammy dodger have you?" said el

"Actually I'm quite partial to the strawberry myself" said Mrs. Hudson

El stood up and rifled through her cupboards she pulled out the two packages of jam filled cookies.

"you're in luck we've got strawberry and blueberry" said el.

She opened them and dumped some on a plate, then carried the plate to the table. She set the plate down and then took her seat.

"So how was your first day, you said you ran into Sherlock" said Mrs. Hudson

"Yes I did I was having lunch with a new friend, Molly and Sherlock needed to talk to her" said El

"Talk to her?" said Mrs. Hudson

"Yes she's the mortician, sweet lady but the most dreadful taste in clothes" said El

Mrs. Hudson shifted self-consciously.

" I don't believe Sherlock's ever mentioned her, the mortician you say how dreadful" said Mrs. Hudson "yes well that's not surprising, she's a bit of a mousy thing and its hardly appetizing to talk about dissection over tea. It probably has something to do with that killer crush she has on Sherlock" said El "yes, um I'm sure that does have something to do with it, Sherlock's not one for the gentler emotions" said Mrs. Hudson

"Bit sad that, I wonder what could have happened that scarred him so badly" said El

Mrs. Hudson gave her a sad look and patted her hand.

"I do not know dear but at least he has people like us watching out for him" said Mrs. Hudson

She finished her tea and six of the cookies, then the old woman took her leave. One of her shows was on and she didn't want to miss it.

El was tired still but still not tired enough to sleep, plus she did just ingest a bunch of caffeine. She put the empty cups in the sink and headed for her bedroom. Her eyes landed on a little black beaded number and she grinned, yeah why not. She threw it on and did her makeup. Switched to a smaller purse, shoved her feet into a pair of heels and headed for the front door. She locked her apartment behind her and climbed the stairs. It was time for a little bit of rest and relaxation.


End file.
